Edible Insects and Other Invertebrates in Australia: Future Prospects
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Alan Louey Yen Edible insects and other invertebrates in Australia: future prospects Alan Louey Yen1 At the time of European settlement, the relative importance of insects in the diets of Australian Aborigines varied across the continent, reflecting both the availability of edible insects and of other plants and animals as food. The hunter-gatherer lifestyle adopted by the Australian Aborigines, as well as their understanding of the dangers of overexploitation, meant that entomophagy was a sustainable source of food. Over the last 200 years, entomophagy among Australian Aborigines has decreased because of the increasing adoption of European diets, changed social structures and changes in demography. Entomophagy has not been readily adopted by non-indigenous Australians, although there is an increased interest because of tourism and the development of a boutique cuisine based on indigenous foods (bush tucker). Tourism has adopted the hunter-gatherer model of exploitation in a manner that is probably unsustainable and may result in long-term environmental damage. The need for large numbers of edible insects (not only for the restaurant trade but also as fish bait) has prompted feasibility studies on the commercialization of edible Australian insects. Emphasis has been on the four major groups of edible insects: witjuti grubs (larvae of the moth family Cossidae), bardi grubs (beetle larvae), Bogong moths and honey ants. Many of the edible moth and beetle larvae grow slowly and their larval stages last for two or more years. Attempts at commercialization have been hampered by taxonomic uncertainty of some of the species and the lack of information on their biologies. This has made it difficult to establish rearing facilities that can raise large numbers of edible insects in a short time. Even if effective mass rearing techniques for edible insects can be developed, the next hurdle is overcoming the cultural barriers against consuming insects in Australia. Notwithstanding these problems, there is considerable potential for greater use of insects as human food (either as insects per se or as food supplements) or as stock food (especially for poultry and fish). This will result in more energy-efficient food production and facilitate environmental conservation. Keywords: Aborigines, animal food, conservation, entomophagy, indigenous food, protein Entomophagy At a time when scientists acknowledge the importance and need for ecosystem services provided by insects, western society does not seriously consider them for human consumption. Their small body sizes, difficulty in collection and processing and unpredictability in obtaining large numbers in the wild are major practical impediments. There 1 Biosciences Research Division, Department of Primary Industries, 621 Burwood Highway, Knoxfield, Victoria, Australia 3156. Email: [email protected] 65 Edible insects and other invertebrates in Australia: future prospects are two main barriers to the acceptance of eating insects: (1) the bad reputation they have as unhygienic and disease-spreading species; and (2) their association with the concept that they are only eaten in times of starvation or as a food source of primitive hunter-gatherer societies (MacEvilly 2000; DeFoliart 1999). There is legislation in some countries regarding insects in food products, ranging from zero tolerance in the United Kingdom to allowing maximum permissible levels in the United States (MacEvilly 2000; Gorham 1979); the basis of this legislation is food contamination and perceived health issues associated with insects (Gorham 1979). Over 1 500 species of insects are known to be consumed by humans from over 300 ethnic groups in 113 countries (MacEvilly 2000). Most of this entomophagy occurs in central and southern Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America, and can provide 5 to 10 percent of the annual animal protein consumed by various indigenous groups as well as fat and calories, and various vitamins (A, B1, B2 and D) and minerals (iron, calcium) (Gullan and Cranston 2005; MacEvilly 2000). Entomophagy and the Australian Aborigines Until European settlement, Aborigines lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers. Survival required a comprehensive knowledge of the flora and fauna and their responses to varying geographic and climatic conditions (O’Dea 1991). They consumed a varied diet in which plants provided fibre but animal foods predominated. This diet was not high in fat as the meat was lean most of the year. Most food was either eaten raw, roasted on ashes, or baked whole in an earth oven. Most Aborigines lived in bands based on extended family groups (20 to 30 individuals) and there were larger gatherings for traditional ceremonies when there was sufficient food available to support larger numbers. Examples included men gathering in the Alps of southeastern Australia during summer to feast on Bogong moths (Flood 1980) and groups meeting at Waikerie on the River Murray in South Australia to collect adult giant swift moths (Tricenta argentata) that emerge in autumn after rain (South Australian Museum, n.d.). Men and women contributed differently; women provided subsistence diet (plants, honey, eggs, small vertebrates, invertebrates) and men were primarily hunters of larger vertebrates. Hunting and gathering was time-consuming, and there was generally only one main meal late in the afternoon after a day of hunting or gathering (O’Dea 1991). Traditionally, Aborigines in Central Australia of different language groups considered the honey ant an important object of ritual and ceremony, and they were linked by the song cycles and ceremonies associated with it (Devitt 1986). The search and excavation for honey ants involve much time for relatively little return (Devitt 1986), and it was an important group activity for women and children who learned about and looked after their country. Information on entomophagy among the various groups of Australian Aborigines has been summarized by Yen (2005), Meyer-Rochow (2005, 1975), Defoliart (2002), Tindale (1966), Reim (1962), Bodenheimer (1951), McKeown (1936) and Campbell (1926). The information is very patchy and has been confused by linguistic issues, incorrect recording of information, traditional beliefs of the Aborigines, incorrect use of common and scientific names of insects and lack of information on the biology and distribution of most species (Yen 2005). This has resulted in more detailed information about entomophagy among Australian Aborigines 66 Alan Louey Yen involving a small number of charismatic species (or species groups): witjuti grubs, bardi grubs, honey ants, Bogong moths and sugar bags (native bees). The common names of some of these insects are based on Aboriginal names. As there are 270 different Aboriginal languages with 600 to 700 dialects in Australia (Australian Info International 1989), this has led to much confusion and different spellings. For example, the name witjuti grubs (also spelled witchetty or witchety) is derived from the Pitjantjatjara name for Acacia kempeana, but it has now been loosely applied to many edible grubs across Australia. Among the Arerrnte, the same species is known as tyape atnyematye, with tyape indicating edible grub, atneyeme is the witchetty bush and atnyematye is the grub from the root of the witchetty bush (Central Land Council 2007b). The name bardi grubs is based on a buprestid beetle from Xanthorrhoea in southwestern Western Australia, but has also been loosely applied to edible grubs across Australia. Some Aboriginal groups had a better naming system for edible grubs: they used a term for edible grub, such as maku in Pitjantjatjara, followed by the name of the plant (Yen et al. 1997). Hence the edible grub from Acacia kempeana is known as maku witjuti among Pitjantjatjara speakers or tyape atnyematye by the Arrernte (Plate 1). Plate 1. Witjuti grub from Central Australia (Courtesy A.L. Yen) An important question is whether the information we have available today is an accurate reflection of the full range of insects (and other invertebrates) eaten by Australian Aborigines. Other edible insects may not have been recorded in the literature. In addition, there is the question of why groups of insects eaten by other indigenous groups outside of Australia were apparently not favoured in Australia. For example, termites (Isoptera), leaf-feeding caterpillars (Lepidoptera) and grasshoppers (Orthoptera) are major components of insect diets in most 67 Edible insects and other invertebrates in Australia: future prospects other continents (Banjo et al. 2006b; DeFoliart 2005; Malaisse 2005; FAO Départment des Forêts 2004; Paoletti et al. 2003; Bodenheimer 1951), but only figure as minor items in a few Australian records (Meyer-Rochow and Changkija 1997; Meyer-Rochow 1975; Reim 1962). To better understand entomophagy in Australia, it is important to consider the Australian environment and how it was exploited by the Aborigines before European settlement. Australia is an arid continent with soils poor in nutrients, unpredictable availability of water (droughts and floods) and wildfire hazards. The unpredictable climatic patterns result in a huge variation in plant species composition and reproduction, and population fluctuations of animals, leading to opportunistic and flexible activities that resulted in the seasonal movements of Aborigines (Allen 1974). There was no cultivation of grain and little agriculture as we know it (O’Dea 1991). The main habitat manipulation to increase plant production was controlled mosaic